India Gang Rape: Why Women Are Needed as Justice Officials

India Gang Rape: Why Women Are Needed as Justice Officials

Article excerpt

On paper, women today have far more legal protections than 50
years ago. More than half of the worlds countries have written
gender equality into their constitutions. But the brutal rape of a
female student in India has thrown a global spotlight on the need to
put legal norms for women into practice.

For two weeks after the gang rape on Dec. 16, thousands of
Indians have protested in New Delhi over the indifference of police
and judges to the high number of incidents of rape. Legislators are
now scrambling to pass antirape reforms. They have far to go.

Indias conviction rate in rape cases is no more than 26 percent.
And thats just for reported rapes. In a key measure of official
insensitivity to violence against woman, only 7 percent of police
officers are women. And a 1996 survey of judges in India found that
68 percent of them said provocative clothing is an invitation to
rape.

One of the best ways to deter rape is to make it easier for women
to report it, especially in a patriarchal and traditional society
like India. Yet in a survey of 57 countries, only 1 in 10 women who
say they experienced a sexual assault actually reported it.

Studies show that the reporting of sex crimes by women increases
if female police officers are available to rape victims. The main
reason is that it helps lessen the shame and stigma often felt by a
female rape victim. And it allows for more comfort and consoling of
the innocent.

Up and down the justice system more women are needed to deal with
female-related crimes. …